BY NANCY ZAMBRANO ON IN BLOG, HOSTED COMMUNICATIONS
Being a technical buyer isn’t easy. With so much changing technology, choosing the right systems and applications can feel like a shot in the dark. There’s pressure to ensure the chosen technology was worth the investment and will do exactly what it says it will do, including integrating with existing platforms. Even when the ideal technology is found, the installation, deployment, training, maintenance and future upgrade costs associated with it can make the total cost of ownership for it skyrocket…and guess who is at fault when the numbers don’t quite deliver?
When it comes to phone systems, many companies struggle to provide employees with modern phone systems without budgeting for huge upfront costs. After all, most already invested a significant amount of money on their existing phone platform and can’t justify upgrading until it gets so bad, they have no choice. Dropped calls, spotty service, limited call features, and escalating maintenance and operating costs on legacy systems all point to one thing: you need a new phone system and it’s up to you to find one.
What if it was all made so simple, an administrator with no technical skills could manage the rollout? Unified communications is the telephony industry’s attempt to do just that, particularly if the phone system is hosted in the cloud. When everything is integrated, control is centralized and time is suddenly freed for more strategic initiatives. Here’s how unified communications (UC) hopes to solve much of a technical buyer’s challenges:
- Using the capabilities of VoIP, multimedia communications, enterprise applications and personal information can be integrated, such as phone, instant messaging, video conferencing, mobility, presence, collaboration capabilities and CRM/ERP and application tracking systems.
- UC can be utilized by both on-premises, cloud-based and hosted phone systems.
- Easy-to-use tools on the UC phones can instantly initiate many daily tasks that can be personalized with minimal training.
- Hosted VoIP systems require no technical skills to install, deploy, maintain or add additional features or upgrades because the system is hosted offsite by the vendor who performs those tasks as part of the hosted service.
- The unified platform distributes the system’s intelligence across the communications environment so the system can scale as needed with minimal time or resources.
- If the VoIP phone system has a distributed architecture, there are built-in safeguards in the event of a power failure to ensure mission-critical business continuity.
- A high-quality VoIP phone system will provide quality sound and reliable service with minimal support requirements.
- “Smart” phone systems offer mobility and personal call management options, provide metrics to understand your callers and your employees, and integrate with business applications to improve customer service.
Any company still dealing with antiquated phones and difficult service providers needs to know there is a better option. Time and resources are precious commodities so preserving them where you can is paramount. Surprisingly, not all phone systems require a large upfront or ongoing operating budget, even if your organization is in constant growth and flux.
To learn more about the best solution for your business, please visit www.generalcom.com or call (781) 756-5100.
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